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Australia dominated the third test race to advance their lead in the Western Springs Speedway Midget Car International Test Series in the second round of the series at Western Springs tonight.
The Aussies scored 27 points in the test tonight, four more than the second-placed USA on 23 points.
The NZ young guns suffered from a poor start grid draw and managed only 9 points.
Adam Clarke dominated and Mark Brown drove well for the Aussies, earning 12 and 9 points respectively in the one test before the main feature race of the night. New Zealander Shaun Insley was top Kiwi point scorer for the night and his 10 points pushed the Kiwi Masters team into second spot overall with a two night total of 58 points.
The US team made good on the previous nights poor performance and now trail the NZ Masters by only 2 points. A solid drive from youngster Danny Stratton put the team in second place tonight and third overall.
Stratton also had a standout drive in the 50-lap International Midget feature race to take the $10,000 winners cheque away from last seasons defending champion USA’s Scott Hatton. The incident filled feature was a nail-biter right to the end and many top drivers were sidelined as the night wore on.
The young Californian native started off 4 place on the grid and quickly worked his way up to challenge pole starter Hatton. Stratton was ecstatic with his win in ’s most prestigious speedway race.
“It feels like a dream at the moment” said Stratton “this is one of the most important wins of my career and I’m blown away right now. I did a sky dive into the stadium at the start of the night and still haven’t come down off the high of two such incredible experiences.”
This is Stratton’s first visit to and it looks like being a successful one if tonight’s superbly accomplished drive is anything to go by.
Hatton, the man who won the 50 lapper last year was disappointed not to have successfully defended his title but was pleased with his second place finish.
“Danny is one of my best friends and we have driven all season up in the states like this” said Hatton “I’ll win one race and he’ll win the next. I’m looking forward the 50 lap feature race down south next week.”
In what may have been the best drive of the night New Zealander Steven Currie stormed from 18th place at the start to take the third spot on the podium after US speedster Davey Ray was penalized for failing to restart in his correct spot after a yellow caution light was brought on during the incident filled race.
Bryce Townsend fought back from a restart off the rear of field to take a hard won fifth place. Townsend looked fast all night and was unfortunate to get caught up in an incident which saw his and former NZ champion Michael Kendall’s cars tangled in Pine tree bend.
The Australians had a better main event tonight and Sydney’s Nathan Smee finished in sixth place just ahead of team mate Adam Clarke.
Matt Thompson managed to hold off Carl Worboys for 8th place. Worboys had restarted from the back after an incident with last nights winner Michael Pickens when a botched pass attempt by Pickens saw the two cars locked together.
Shaun Insley rounded out the top ten ahead of an unusually off form Brad Mosen who struggled at the rear of the field all night.
In the Sprint Car feature Jamie McDonald held off veteran Allan Wakeling to take the win in a race that the two dominated from early on. Third place went to Kerry Jones. A spectacular crash saw Bill Clarkson spin and take out Ossie Sokol in what was almost a head on collision.
A shortened TQ feature saw NZ Champion Paul LeCren take the win from last years champion Scott Joblin young Shane O’Conner took third after a relegation put Chris McCutcheon into fourth.
The New Zealanders, Australians and Americans now ship the cars south to Christchurch for rounds 3 and 4 of the series which take place on Thursday (January 26) and Saturday (January 28) at the Powerbuilt Speedway in Christchurch.
The $50,000 “Southern 50” International 50 lap feature race will be held at Powerbuilt Speedway on Saturday night (January 28) Results: First Test – International Series (20 Jan)
NZ Young Guns 25 points
USA 20 points
Australia 18 points
NZ Masters 15 points Second Test – International Series (20 Jan)
Australia 26 points
NZ Masters 24 points
NZ Young Guns 15 points
USA 13 points Third Test – International Series (21 Jan)
Australia 27 points
USA 23 points
NZ Masters 19 points
NZ Young Guns 9 points Interim Standings – Six Test International Series
Australia 71 points
NZ Masters 58 points
USA 56 points
NZ Young Guns 49 points Top 12 finishers - International 50 Lap Feature Race (the second of the series) Finish Name Country
1. Danny Stratton USA
2. Scott Hatton USA
3. Steven Currie NZ
4. Davey Ray USA
5. Bryce Townsend NZ
6. Nathan Smee AUS
7. Adam Clarke AUS
8. Matt Thompson NZ
9. Carl Worboys NZ
10. Shaun Insley NZ
11. Brad Mosen NZ
12. Michael Kendall NZ The top 10 – International Feature Race Series (Overall Standings) Rank Name Country Points
1. Scott Hatton USA 36
2. Steven Currie NZ 34
3. Carl Worboys NZ 31
4. Danny Stratton USA 30
5. Brad Mosen NZ 28
6. Shaun Insley NZ 26
7. Adam Clarke AUS 25
8. Nathan Smee AUS 23
9. Michael Kendall NZ 21
10. Davey Ray USA 21
For more information, please contact Springs Speedway promoter Dave Stewart on 021-658 190.
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